golden age
by inotrash
Summary: i never saw you coming, and i'll never be the same. —kibaino.
once upon a time i returned to writing kibaino

ten words, grabbed from a random generator: dance, interview, crush, cheat, tease, glasses, accept, coffee, cake, squealing. i said to myself (this was last night, at, like midnight my time) , "oh, emily, you should write something short before you sleep tonight."

i am a liar this is five thousand words

naruto's not mine

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 **01\. dance—**

there's a celebration ball, after the war ends.

ino doesn't know why; really, their time would be better spent rebuilding broken villages, broken families, broken hearts. but but but—they ( the kages? probably. or, no, more likely the daimyos, nobles are always so fond of their fancy events, after all. ) have decided that instead of releasing the warriors who fought and survived to go back home and grieve privately, they must instead put on happy faces, go dance the night away and pretend that everything is okay.

( she's not upset. really. )

ino has her hair piled on top of her head, golden flower hairband delicately placed within the near-white strands, and her dress is, of course, purple. if she has to be here, it'll be in representation of the flower her father had likened her to. heels bring her up three inches, which is enough to stand over the other konoha girls, though some of the kunoichi from other villages still tower over her ( what do they feed them? ), as do the men from nearly everywhere. and, no, she's not in the middle of the celebration. she's in the corner with a genjutsu ( nothing strong or chakra-intensive, but nobody will be looking for it; they just won a war, after all! what threat could there _possibly_ be? ) shielding her from others' eyes and a glass of spiked fruit punch. life is sort-of good, almost.

she sips from her punch, and really she must find out what flavor this is because it's quite good, and watches people dance on the wide-open floor. sakura is out there with tenten and temari, and hinata has actually managed to find courage enough to ask naruto to dance ( she's so happy that's happened, really. they both deserve something good. ). her eyes skip over ( almost ) every member of the konoha twelve, plus sai, who's awkwardly shoved in the corner opposite her and talking to yamato. everyone's present but two people ( one of the names her mind skims over because she doesn't want to think about it, nope, nosirree )and the other—

"so, gorgeous. why aren't you dancing?"

 _kiba._

ino tips her head back against the wall to look up at him, still so much taller even with her heels. "too tired. we did just finish a war, after all. why aren't you?" she would wonder how he found her; but, well, team eight was _made_ for tracking, so it's not much of a surprise.

"don't have anyone to dance with. nobody's as pretty as you are, and you're the only one who's pretty enough for me." his grin is all sharp canines; she likes it.

"well isn't that a tragedy," she says, corner of her mouth perking up to the left in her signature smirk. "guess you're not dancing tonight, huh."

kiba's arm falls around her waist, and ino resolutely doesn't think about how right it feels. "not if you'll dance with me." he takes the mostly-full glass of punch from her hand, sets it on the base of a statue probably older than the sannin themselves. "c'mon, flower girl. just one dance?"

her eyes alight at his assured movement, the arm around the waist and the cup lifted from her hand, both without permission. she thinks, maybe, this might be what she needs to distract her from everything. ino reaches around him for one last sip from her stolen drink, then takes his free hand in hers.

"just one dance."

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 **02\. interview—**

ino's mother is just as sharp and fierce as her daughter is; kiba knows, now, that ino doesn't take wholly after her father, like everyone thought. that razor smile came straight from mama. he wonders, really, why he couldn't have just met her at work. surely the reveal of the location of anbu headquarters is nothing compared to him having to wait here.

"so, kiba," she begins, carefully placing a plant he doesn't recognize into a glazed pot. "you... and my daughter. how long has this been going on?"

fourteen words, one question, and he's never been so nervous to respond in his life. "um. since the celebration ball, the one after the war, i suppose? we, uh, danced. together. for a while. i guess it started there?"

"hmm. and how long do you want it to go on?" she smooths dirt over the roots, patting it down down down.

"as long as she'll let it," he tells her, leaning against the counter of the flower shop, tapping sharp nails against the granite top. akamaru rubs nervously against his leg.

she nods, infinitesimally unnoticeable, and he feels oddly like he's back in the academy and has just given the correct answer to a tricky question. "hand me that watering can, would you? the one next to your lovely dog. akamaru, correct? his coat is quite healthy; i don't think i've seen an inuzuka dog that well-furred since your grandmother, my genin sensei."

kiba slides it across to her with one hand, scratches the back of his neck with the other. he swears this is like an interview for a job ( a job he really really wants. but. still .). "really, all i do is feed him what my mom supplies, take him for walks around the village a few times a day; the usual sort of stuff. i don't know what grandma did, but her dogs were crazy strong."

"thank you, dear." she lifts the can, pouring water into the pot just like he's watched ino do— _the times she wasn't late getting here from work._ when there's enough in the plant's roots, she sets it down and faces him directly, one arm balanced against the counter. "so. kiba." ( he gulps. it's not from fear, really. ) "you, and my daughter. she likes you more than she cares to admit, and i think you feel the same, whether you'll admit it or not. and, i think you two are good for each other. you need someone to soften you out, dull those inuzuka edges just a bit. and ino—she's always been so focused on being the best. you, from what i've seen and heard; you make her feel like she is the best."

"that's because she is, ma'am." kiba takes a deep breath, ready to keep going; and then that damned bell over the door rings out, a tinkling sound in the silence before a confession never to be made. he turns wholly, ino's mother partially, and ino herself waltzes through the door, hair loose and smile wide.

he's never been so upset to see her in his life.

"kiba!" she wraps herself around an arm, head nestling on his shoulder. "i hope mom wasn't being too awful to you. she gets protective. daddy was worse, though; i think he might have once killed a guy who made a rude comment about me." her airiness, lightness; it's nice to be enveloped in it, almost like a cloud that he could bury himself in. ( but this isn't love. he'll swear it. )

"no, she wasn't. we were talking about my grandmother; did you know she was your mom's genin team leader?"

ino looks at her mom, eyebrows raised, and kiba gets the feeling she knows that wasn't what they were speaking of. she doesn't call him on it, though. "no, i didn't. who would've thought. anyways, sorry i'm late; ibiki-sensei was testing me and refused to let me leave until i finished. you ready?"

"yeah, i am. hope our teammates haven't ditched us by now." his arm pulls from where it's insinuated inside one of hers and lands across her bare shoulders. "g'bye, mrs. yamanaka. thanks for keeping me company."

"the pleasure was mine, darling. any time." as they walk out, kiba feels her approving eyes on their backs, and thinks he's probably done something right here.

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 **03\. crush—**

ino wonders when this turned into more than a schoolyard crush. it's been more than a year since the end of the war, more than a year since just one dance, and she's still here with kiba. still spending almost every day and more than a few of her nights with him.

it's almost something serious. he meets her after work, at her apartment or his ( usually depending on their work schedules ) and brings her dinner or takes her out somewhere or, once, makes it in the kitchen. she hadn't known he could cook, much less cook better than she could. although, that's not particularly hard, as neither of her parents saw fit to teach her more than basic recipes. but, still; he can cook and well and she's very intrigued by that.

( if she were a little more secure in her feelings, she'd use the word attracted. but ino is nowhere near well-adjusted when it comes to romantic relationships; sort of comes with the whole _ninja_ territory. )

this, though; it's become something serious. she wears his clan emblem on a long golden chain, his one-year anniversary gift to her, and he has flowers everywhere, the true sign of ino _liking_ someone. ( she never gifts flowers to people she dislikes; it's a waste of perfectly lovely plants. ) they spend time doing their own separate things but still together, her painting her nails and him trimming akamaru's, ino clawing her way through a pile of paperwork ibiki threw at her as she tried to run out and kiba sleeping as she looks at him fondly.

it feels like love, in the right light.

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 **04\. cheat—**

kiba's such a cheater.

( he'd feel guilty, but in the end it's for her own good, so. )

"sakura. please. help me," he begs, following her through the hospital's tiny cafeteria. "i am hopeless at this. i need your help."

she doesn't answer him until she's sat at a table, apple in hand and green eyes regarding him coolly. "kiba. you have been with ino for, what—nearly two and a half years, now? this is terrible. you should feel ashamed."

"i know," he says, reaching for one of her cookies and getting slapped in return. "but, please, please, please; i swear i'll do whatever if you help me with this."

sakura gets that evil, evil look in her eyes—the one he associates with ino and anger—and kiba starts to regret his word choice. a lot.

two days later he finds himself meeting her just inside the village jeweler's, after taking a carefully planned route. he mapped it out specifically to go around the yamanaka, nara, and akimichi compounds ( all full of people who could potentially follow him and ruin this ), around the place he's pretty sure the anbu compound is located ( one word: ibiki ), and all the kunoichi's homes. except sakura, who's waiting outside and giving him the evil eye.

"look, i know i took forever; but i had to go around the clan compounds, and anbu headquarters—" ( her eyebrow raises at that, and he realizes he shouldn't reveal his knowledge of its location ) "—and all the kunoichi's places. anyone seeing me heading here could ruin this!" kiba flails his arms for emphasis.

sakura shakes her head, incredulity evident on her face. "how the hell did you land yamanaka ino, again?"

"devilry. now, c'mon, she gets off in like a hour. i stole one of her rings this morning; can they tell me what size it is?"

"seven; her ring size is seven. but i do applaud you for thinking about that." sakura turns and beckons him over. "this is where they have the engagement rings. i assume that's the kind you meant, when you said you wanted to get her a ring?"

"of course. i wouldn't go to all this sneaking around if it were just a normal present, would i?"

"probably you would. just because you're you, and ino's ino."

he can't argue with that, so instead he points at a ring and says, "how's that one? i saw it when i came in here on my own, and i thought it looked good, but i wanted your opinion; i mean, you've been friends with ino so long, even though you guys had that spat over sasuke way back when, and i figured you'd be the best person to get advice from other than her mother but her mom scares the hell out me, i swear i thought ino got it from her dad but it's all from her mother—"

" _kiba._ you're rambling. calm down. _shush._ " sakura peers into the glass box. it's diamonds and amethysts; one large diamond, right at the top of the ring, surrounded by four tiny amethysts in pristine purple, in turn neighbored by even smaller diamonds. the amethyst parts, they look like leaves, even, which he thinks is perfect for ino.

"you didn't need my help, kiba," she says to him, grinning. "this is perfect; she'll love it. maybe almost as much as she loves you."

"oh, shush," he grumbles at her. "she clearly loves jewelry more than me." ( he's wrong, but he won't find that out for another month or so, and then he'll look back on this moment with humor. )

but he calls the store owner over anyways, and when they leave the ring is nestled into one of the inner pockets of his jacket, waiting for the right moment and the right courage.

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 **05\. tease—**

when shikamaru and temari get married, at twenty-one and twenty-four respectively, they elope and have a party when they come back, thrown mainly by gaara ( well, in name, at least. naruto probably planned it, because there's no way gaara could pull this off; he's a hell of a kage, but he's hopeless at social events, even now.). in ino's opinion, it sort of defeats the purpose of eloping; but it's nice, being able to celebrate her brother in all but blood marrying the girl she's come to think of as almost a sister.

and, hey—kiba looks extremely nice in formal wear, so it's not like she's gonna complain. he looks better than he did back at that first ball, when they started as a distraction and turned into something solid and real; he's filled out more, and gained weight, but in a good way. kiba was too thin, there for a while; now he's muscle and height and everything ino loves wrapped up into one thing.

she tells him this, as they sway on the dance floor. "so, everything you _loooove_ , huh?" he asks, grinning sharp and canine. "always knew you felt more for me than you let on, ino; i mean, really, it was so obvious—"

"shut up," she tells him, "before i break up with you on our almost half-a-versary. i'm not afraid to, you know."

"sure you're not, sweetheart." he spins her, one two three times, and when she comes back into his arms ino punches him fast and light on the shoulder.

"we're broken up. it's official." ino sighs heavily, sadness emanating from her. "and we made it so far; i suppose i'll have to move in with sakura for a bit. i'll be gracious, and let you keep the apartment. i want akamaru, though."

"that'll happen, babe. sure."

"mhm." she leads him over to the snack table with a laugh on her lips, ladling punch into one of the ancient glass goblets passed down through one of the clans. or maybe all three. she's not sure. "akamaru likes me better, anyways. right, boy?"

she laughs like a banshee when he pouts for ten minutes, after akamaru walks to her side instead of his.

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 **06\. glasses—**

ino lost both contacts at shikamaru and temari's wedding party, and when kiba returns from grocery shopping the saturday afternoon after he finds her with glasses on. it's not so drastic a change that he doesn't recognize her; but, still, it's enough to make him almost drop the bags in his arms.

"don't look at me," she tells him, burying her head in her arms as she curls on the plush couch. "these glasses are _hideous_ , and i won't have new contacts until wednesday. wednesday! i have work this week, i'm going to have to _go into work_ looking like this."

kiba sets the groceries in the kitchen, pulling out the chocolate he picked up especially for her before walking to pull ino into his arms. "babe. listen to me; you are the most gorgeous girl i've ever met, out of all the five major nations and the minor ones, and that's saying something, because i've been to most of them. even with glasses, there's nobody who can compare to you. _promise_."

she looks up at him, and, really, he doesn't know what she was whining about. they make her already huge eyes look bigger, something he hadn't thought possible, and it's like two twin oceans, as cheesy as it sounds. they're thin, too; not the thick, dark frames he was sure she'd have to be in possession of, with her antics. taupe-coloured, with no frame on the lower part of the lens; really, they're _adorable_ on her.

"ino. they look fine on you; more than fine, really, but whatever. look. i have something to ask you, and now might not be the most glamorous time, but it'll make you feel better and i think you need it." kiba fumbles in his jacket pocket for _it_ , the tiny velvet box he's been carrying for a month, until his hand closes around it, suddenly sweaty.

he slides off the couch, onto one knee, and proffers the little container—

"ino. beautiful, beautiful girl, love and light of my life. you're probably going to smack me, because i'm going to go on for a minute or so. just—deal with it, 'kay? i'm building up to something. when i asked you to dance, back at the end of the war, i never thought we'd develop something this real. i didn't see this coming. i certainly didn't expect your mother to interrogate me about my intentions that one time; or to fall in love with you so quickly; or to beg your best friend to help me pick out a ring, even though i had good taste in the first place. i never saw us living together, but now, when i think about the future, i only see you. i don't think i've ever told you that; but, i swear, it's true. i want to wake up next to you, share coffee and brunch and all that other couple-y stuff, and maybe one day we can have kids, as many as you want. they'll be gorgeous, because, i mean, look at us; and they'll be so brilliant, too, with your smarts.

"so, yamanaka ino; will you marry me?"

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 **07\. accept—**

he's so damn long-winded sometimes, rambly and, not incoherent, far from it, but it's almost like words spill out of him, sometimes. these, though; she wishes she could go back and record the words coming out of his mouth, because she's always been chased by boys, asked out and fawned over, but never has she heard words as sweet as those. ino's pretty sure there are tears leaking from her eyes, and she would care, because eyeliner; but she can't, because kiba just _asked her to marry him_ and this is more important than probably waterproof eyeliner any day.

"oh my god. oh my god." her arms flail, just a tiny bit, and finally she flings herself at kiba, knocking him over onto the floor. "yes, kiba. yes yes yes, and also i want two kids, one boy and one girl, and you're damn right they'll be gorgeous and brilliant both. and a big wedding. my parents had a big one when they got married, and i've always dreamed of having one myself. before the kids, of course."

he kisses her, and she suspects it's to shut her up; which, in his defense, she was rambling on there. when kiba pulls away he pops open the box, tiny and velvet black, and the ring inside is diamonds and amethysts, the one she's loved forever from down in the jeweler's. it's sliding on her finger and she wonders if this is real.

"sakura told me your ring size is seven, and it looked about the same size as the one i stole from your jewelry box; it fits, right? i can go get it resized if it doesn't. and—and you like it, right? sakura, she said i did really well in picking it, and i think i believe her, but it is your ring, so—"

this time she kisses him to silence the room.

"it's perfect."

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 **08\. coffee—**

ino drops a small bomb on his world over coffee.

"we're going to have to move the wedding, babe."

"are you breaking up with me? because i'm keeping akamaru, i don't care if he likes you better, the traitor."

her cup pauses in mid-tilt, just so she can give him the _really?_ look, the one she's probably had patented since their academy days. "yes. i'm breaking up with you, and i'm stealing your dog and ring in the process. well, actually, i suppose it's my ring. but, since i'm not breaking up with you, it's a moot point, now, isn't it?"

he offers her an onigiri in apology, which she primly takes.

"now that you're done being ridiculous, sakura found me at work late last night and told me something very important. it affects the wedding date, so we're going to have to move it up about, oh, eight months." ino sets her cup ( emblazoned with a dog and pig together ) and begins nibbling at the rice ball.

"she and sasuke are taking our wedding date, aren't they? always knew he would betray me somehow—"

"i'm pregnant, you dolt."

kiba hasn't stayed silent for this long in _years_ ; and, when he finally breaks that silence, he also hasn't been this _loud_ in years.

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 **09\. cake—**

their wedding is _huge_. just what ino always dreamed of, as a child; bright, brilliant lights and sakura as her maid of honor. her daddy doesn't give her away; but shikamaru and chouji do, one on either side of her, all the way down the aisle, and it's still enough to make her tear up. her kimono, pure white and just loose enough that it doesn't stretch over her belly, which is just starting to show, gleams under the lights as she twirls with kiba in their first dance ( they picked the same slow song they first danced to; it's humorous and nostalgic both, because, really, who would've thought that they would end up _here?_ ).

shikamaru and chouji claim her for the next two dances, and after that, chouza sweeps her away to talk to relatives, both actually related to her and not. forty minutes later she slips away to a table tucked in a corner, relieved because all she wants to do is sit. she and sakura had crammed what should have been a year of wedding planning into three months, just enough time for her stomach to start showing but for her still to get married in the elegant kimono she'd picked out when she was six, and really all she'd like to do is sleep.

"wanna ditch?" kiba's arms drape around her from behind, his chin landing on her shoulder and akamaru's jaw resting on her lap.

ino leans back, head falling against his chest. "let's go. we can leave for the land of snow early; you think anyone will notice if we're not around to cut the cake and smash it in each other's faces?"

"nah. they'll just eat without us. your mom might would get a little angry, though, so you'd have to explain to her. she scares me."

"sure. she'll understand; i heard from uncle chouza that she and my dad snuck away from their wedding early, too. i've danced with everyone i need to, i think, so take me away, my sweet prince." she stands and leans her head back on his shoulder almost immediately. "but, first, let's grab a couple pieces of cake for the journey."

( they take three pieces, one each for them and a small one for akamaru. as they're eating, the carriage bumps and ino does, in fact, manage to smear it over his face. it's _brilliance._ )

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 **10\. squealing—**

five and a half months later, it's three in the morning and kiba is in a hospital with ino clutching at both of his hands despite the pain relieving jutsu sakura's already performed, hoping praying that their child will be okay.

a squeal breaks the silence, and sakura smiles up at them ( ino had refused, even with the odd hour, to have anyone but sakura deliver her child. they'd had to send someone to fetch her, because ino was on the verge of walking there herself ). "congrats, guys. you've got a baby girl."

she hands her off to one of the other mednins standing nearby, and kiba thinks she'll stand herself, but instead she looks down and then back up at ino, eyes huge. "um. ino. don't kill me or kiba, 'kay?"

" _why._ " kiba flinches back instinctively at the growl; it's a battlefield reflex.

"uh, well, you see—look, i can explain in a minute, just, push for a second, m'kay? m'kay."

ino turns to him. "inuzuka kiba, if you got me pregnant with more than one child and ruined the ino-shika-cho trio, i will kill you and take your dog and house—"

her threats are broken off by more squealing, and sakura looks up at them happily. "you did always say you wanted two kids, ino-chan; a boy and a girl, right? guess you got your wish first try. always were the lucky one, i suppose."

kiba grins at the little boy in sakura's arms; that child, both of them, are the product of him and ino, their children, something, _someone,_ he helped make. he's not been this proud since he first received akamaru.

ten minutes later, sakura delivers the children to their arms; the boy she deposits in ino's, and the girl in kiba's. "congrats, you two. they're both gorgeous." she leans down and kisses ino's forehead. "they'll move you to a private room, later. i'm going to go home, now, unless you want me to stay, but everything should be done. one of the other mednins will take both to the maternity unit at some point, and you're going to sleep, okay? that goes for both of you. i'll be back at nine. promise."

kiba leans against the edge of ino's bed, looks down at his son and daughter. it's still not real, to him, somehow; even though he's spent the last eight months preparing for this moment, it's come too fast and he doesn't feel ready.

"what are we going to name them?" ino asks him, quiet and melodic. "they're twins, so, that sort of breaks the ino-shika-cho tradition already, and your family doesn't have any particular naming traditions, so—any ideas?"

kiba looks down at the girl in his arms, and casts around; they'd discussed names, for both a boy and a girl, but if they're throwing out the yamanaka's traditions, then—

"michiko. it means child of beauty, and we're both gorgeous; seems fitting, right?"

"i like it. has a nice ring. for this one... what do you think of kano?" ino leans back in the bed more, cradling their son against her chest. " _capability._ we're raising him, and for aunts and uncles he has some of the strongest ninja in the world. no damn way he won't be capable."

kiba hands off michiko to her mother, and reaches for the two birth certificates lying next to ino's bed. in careful, mostly neat handwriting, he writes out yamanaka michiko on the one marked for a girl, and yamanaka kano on the boy's one. he signs at the bottom, and then, with tricky maneuvering, he trades with ino so she can sign.

"yamanaka?" she looks up at him in surprise. "i thought we were doing one each for our last names."

kiba shrugs cautiously. "the inuzuka name has hana to pass it on; and she just got married last year, remember? she'll handle that, i think. you've been the yamanaka clan heir your whole life, though. and, anyways, inuzuka doesn't sound as good. just as long as they get dogs, my mom will be happy. hell, she'll be happy with grandkids at all."

"they'll have dogs, and my mind jutsus, and your tracking skills—and, god, kiba, can you believe we've made it here? this is insane."

he leans down, careful careful careful, and kisses her gently. "but it's life."

she laughs at that, taking kano back from him. "i love you. so much."

"love you too, babe. 'til the end—"

michiko and kano both start squealing then, in sync, and kiba flashes forward to the next few months; this is gonna be hell, having two babies to raise.

he's not alone, though; and that's what matters most.


End file.
